Improvement in processes of manufacturing flour



. R. L. DGWNTON. Process of Manufacturing Flour.

No.-2"O4,302. Patented May 28,1878'.

, passing it through or between burrs UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ROBERTL. DOWNTON, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURING FLOUR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 204,302, dated May 28,1878 application filed August 22, 1876.

To all lwhom 'it may concern:

Beit known that l, ROBERT L. DowNToN, of the city of Milwaukee and Stateof Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theProcess of Manufacturing Flour, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

This invention has for its object the manufacturin g of a better gradeof ilour from certain portions of the wheat-berry.

To more clearly define my invention it will be necessary to describe thepresent method of manufacturing middlings-Hour. The ground meal isthrown into bolts covered with cloths of different degrees of neness,the superflue or starchy our passing through the finest or irst'divisionof cloth, the middlings passing through the second or next finestdivision of cloth, and the bran passing through the third or stillcoarser division of cloth. The middlin gs are then transferred to apuriierhavin g an upward current of air, Where the detached particles ofbran and other impurities are thus removed. The middlings, however,contain flat scaly particles, (technically termed i dustings,) largerthan the supertine or starchy flour before alluded to, and notsufficiently large or granulated to admit of purification by theordinary methods, and

which, whenground with the middlings, tend to discolor the iiourproduced therefrom. My invention, therefore, relates to a separatetreatment of this material in order to obtain the best results; and theinvention consists in separating from the middlin gs before they aretransferred to the purifier this material termed dustings,77 by passingthe middlings through a bolt clothed with cloth of such neness as toreadily allow said particles termed dustings 7 to-be bolted through thecloth, while the middlings pass over the tail of the bolt. The materialpassing or bolted through the cloth is then regronnd and rewhitened byor rolls,

and then bolted through a reel or reels clothed with liner cloths thanit last came through, while the small specks (separated therefrom by theaction of the burrs or rolls, and which tend to discolor the fiour,) arecarried over the tail of the reel or reels. The flour passing throughthe last reel or reels is then. conveyed to driers or bleachers, whereit is subjected to radiated heat, which gives it a dry sharp feeling andevaporates the discoloring moisture, which especially pertains to thisclass of material. This iour can be mixed with the other liour, or besold as a separate grade of iiour.

I' will now describe brieiiy my process of manufacturing flour,referring, for illustration, to the accompanying drawing.

A represen ts the reel, to which the middlin gs are transferred beforethey go to the purifier, the material termed dustings being separatedand bolted through the reel, while the middlings pass over the tail ofthe rcel. The material termed dustings is then conveyed to the grindingburrs or rolls B to be reground and rewhitened, thence to thebolting-rcel O, clothed with finer cloth than reel A., through which theflour is bolted, the line specks separated therefrom by the burrs orrolls passing over the tail of t-he reel. The our bolted through saidreel is then conveyed to the drier or bleachcr D, Where it is subjectedto radiated heat, producing the results before described.

Separating this material termed dustings from the middlings, thenregrinding and rel Whitening and rebolting on liner cloths, is ofconsiderable value, but when dried and bleached it is of still moreimportance.

I claim as my invention- The herein-described process of manufacturingonr, consisting of an intermediate separation of the material termeddustings 7 from the middlings previous to the purification of saidmiddlings, and then subjecting said dustin gs to the action of rolls orburrs for regrinding and rewllitening the same, and subscquentlyrebolting said material on liner cloths, substantially as specified.

ROBERT LUCAS DOWNTON.

Witnesses:

W. H. WATSON, HENRY CRossoN.

